ABSTRACT
The complexity of the diabetes experience mirrors life’s reality. Complexity has been acting as a foundation for a whole new way of looking at management. Locked into a strange new world, beset by overwhelming complexities, and sometimes even lacking a language in which to articulate what they are feeling, a diabetes diagnosis can lead to all sorts of problems, particularly emotional ones. Creativity and complexity thinking provided a way forward. People with diabetes inevitably acquire knowledge and experience of their condition and its management, and therefore become experts in living with their disease. In some situations, simple mechanistic rules may apply. For example, where diabetes control is adequate, exercise will reduce blood glucose levels and therefore more carbohydrate intake and/or less insulin is required. The need to explore new ways to help people learn led to the design of interactive consulting and learning aids, designed with an artist in the form of ‘Diabetes Boxes’.
